On a trip to India many years ago, I made it a point to purchase an Indian Barbie for my niece. So they do sell some. And her Indian dream house would be pretty badass, if they can just keep the poor girl out of Dehli or Mumbai. Both cities are loud and crowded, with traffic that I would never take that convertable on.

wildcardjack:UrukHaiGuyz: Andromeda: Toymaker Mattel has hired a team of top-notch interior designers to create three "dream houses" - in New York, California and India - and will announce its choice in August.

fireclown:Andromeda: India? Do they really sell that many Barbie dolls there?

On a trip to India many years ago, I made it a point to purchase an Indian Barbie for my niece. So they do sell some. And her Indian dream house would be pretty badass, if they can just keep the poor girl out of Dehli or Mumbai. Both cities are loud and crowded, with traffic that I would never take that convertable on.

Plus the rape of a blond Westerner is almost assured if she takes the convertible through the streets.

wildcardjack:UrukHaiGuyz: Andromeda: Toymaker Mattel has hired a team of top-notch interior designers to create three "dream houses" - in New York, California and India - and will announce its choice in August.

Even from a male perspective, I never "got" Barbie. I mean, I had the standard boy oriented toys as a kid, Star Wars, TMNT, GI Joe, Transformers. There were loads of characters and you collected them.

The girl-centric toys mostly worked the same way. The Ponies, Strawberry Shortcakes, Rainbow Brite. Loads of characters and you collect them.

But Barbie is just Barbie. Same person. She has a boyfriend and a couple of token minority pals, but really it's the same toy over and over. You just get her new outfits and accessories, right?

So why in the fark did my female cousins have 40 of the damn things? All identical. Walking into that playroom was actually a little disturbing, just dozens of blue eyes and white smiles looking at you. And they were usually naked as well, you so can't even claim that the point was to have them in different outfits.

Debbie Jellinsky: My parents, Sharon and Dave. Generous, doting, or *were they*? All I ever wanted was a Ballerina Barbie. In her pretty pink tutu. My birthday. I was 10, and do you know what they got me? *Malibu* Barbie.Morticia: Malibu Barbie.Gomez: The nightmare.Morticia: The nerve.

Wade_Wilson:But Barbie is just Barbie. Same person. She has a boyfriend and a couple of token minority pals, but really it's the same toy over and over. You just get her new outfits and accessories, right?

So why in the fark did my female cousins have 40 of the damn things? All identical. Walking into that playroom was actually a little disturbing, just dozens of blue eyes and white smiles looking at you. And they were usually naked as well, you so can't even claim that the point was to have them in different outfits.

Barbie is whoever you wanted her to be. Mine were usually straight up sluts with porn star names, screwing GI Joe or Ken. I had to pretend the same Ken doll was someone else because I had far more barbies than Kens. Keep in mind when I was younger it was the Lifetime movie version of sex because I had no idea what really went on under those covers. When I finally figured it out I was like, damn Barbie, you whore. Apparently, your cousins ran a brothel out of their playroom.

Nacc:She just wanted in on being able to line jump with the help of disabled folks. Coming soon to a toyland near you "Line jumping, entitled disneyland barbie, with wheelchair buddy."

Ahh. Becky. I have one of those...(a gift from a friend...thought it was cool because I use a wheelchair, and did have a camera at the time, although it's been a long time since I was in school, even since I went back to college in my 40s!)

Well, yes, I did have a Barbie when I was a kid, about (mumble mumble) years ago, when they only had one version of her...the bubble hairdo...and a Ken as well. Never got many of the fancy outfits though. A cousin had the convertible, and I was envious of that. I didn't go in for dolls much. But that convertible, oh yeah.

FunkOut:Yoga Barbie : now with joints that twist into every bloody direction.

If Mattel is really wanting to pretend that Barbie is an empowering role model for girls, they should ditch the idea of a dream house Indian Barbie and replace her with Aghori Barbie - charnel ground playset (ashes, kapala, a Ken corpse, and a copy of the Shiva Sutras) included.